Hey everybody and I'm sorry for not posting another chapter yesterday! I try to keep one chapter everyday but Astronomy class lasted longer than it should have and other classes are tightly time-packed together.

Oh and when I posted the poll and said Character Development, I probably should have explained it better cuz my lack of understanding applied a 'confuse hex' for 30 seconds to myself as I was trying to figure out whether I meant:

'Skill leveling' or 'emotions/relationships' so can you guys give me some help plz in the comments on where I might have been trying to go on that? I'm like a metaphorical fish out of water here lol.

Anyways here is the chap albeit small. sorreh lol, I'll make it up to you guys this weekend teehee

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Logging back into Second Horizon the village comes into view. It reminds me of those medieval pictures shown in history textbooks. Not the glorified Hollywood version, the actual version of what they looked like. For example the NPC’s are poking their heads out of the second floor buildings then chucking their nasty garbage onto the street. Lovely.

It’s not very fun especially when I player I see right now just walked under it then looked up to hear the lady yelling “look out below!” Too late. If there was a way to kill village NPC’s without major consequences then that guy would have already ‘trashed’ her place!

Before I start having to dodge and weave like a warzone, entering the inn would be the best bet. The inn is called The Dragons Underbelly. And by the way the village we are in is called Geddi.

The only thing I can see that is similar to the name is the people inside. And that is because some are so fat you could probably fit a dragon under their belly. I mean, fat isn’t bad to a certain extent. But if you go up and try to explain it to them they will probably say: “what’s this word ‘extent’?” or “Gotta have enough fat to last me the winter!”

They probably have an IQ equivalent to the mule they pack their items with. Furthermore, grab any dentist you can think of-even the best-and once they lay their eyes on those pork chop grinders they will quit their profession and become monks looking for a spiritual guide for the path to reality. Hell, even grab a gold miner and you can bet he’ll be spiking their food with JuJu beans and wait until they’re knocked out to make a small fortune on the gold teeth.

If they are farmers, how do they get the money for this stuff and live a lavish lifestyle?

With questions unanswered I gaze around and finally spot my elfen friend sitting in a seat at the corner of the room. It seems I’m not the only one either. Adventurers and also the bloated NPC’s are sneaking peeks but don’t dare walk over. It’s most likely the queen-like aura she subconsciously emits, giving anyone who walks near the chills. Except for yours truly. Mostly outsiders get the idea that she has a sort of ‘Ice Queen’ persona, well ‘Blood Queen’ sounds more befitting. Anyways, she has told me what happened and how she got her unusual hidden race/class.

However on the inside I can see she just has a hard time trusting people and tends to close herself off to others whether or not she realizes she is doing so. Thus it is my mini-goal to try and be her friend. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not planning to be some psychologist and directly talk it out.

That would be the last thing I would do for fear of becoming an eternal blood-bag. I also don’t want to be some self-sacrificing goody-two-shoes to make her feel better. Just being with her and seeing her laugh every now and then sounds good enough.

“You going to sit down?”

Synth’s voice snaps me out of my random happy go lucky vision and back to reality. At the same time I notice I haven’t moved from the side of the table.

“Ah yeah, sorry I forgot where I was for a second.”

“Mhmm you had a wide shit-eating grin on your face for a while.”

We both chuckle as I sit down across from her, once again admiring her beauty and very much aware of the scary stares penetrating me. If glares from people could materialize into a misty aura, the air would be as dense as a sauna inside a volcano.

Synth broke the eerie silence for us “So you said you have a quest to do that involves getting those special documents? Where do we head to?”

She whispers as low as possible making it so only we can hear. Somehow I don’t think she understands we can just message each other or she forgets so I just play along.

“The old man Julius said it’s a dungeon called Onyx Domain and told me that it’s near the Capital City Flaste. He also mentioned that it’s already a well-known spot for adventurers, which makes me uneasy. There is sure to be some trouble surrounding the place such as some PK groups.”

“Hmmm…I don’t see why we should care, there is 4 of us if you include Relix. Plus from all of that hunting we have done so far I’m a high level compared to others.” Synth states in an indifferent tone.

“Just what level are you? Since this game just came out the highest players stated by others on the forum is 33 to even a few at 40!”

She looks uneasy at me for a few moments before finally giving in. Yay +1 trust stat, just kidding.

“…level 36…”

I seem to lose control of my jaw as it hangs there like the belly of the fattest NPC in the room. That is pretty shocking but also understandable, considering she was snapping necks like twigs since I’ve been in fights with her.

Usually for most games level 36 isn’t anything special but again, Second Horizon doesn’t do things like others. The levels take longer to gain experience and the gameplay focuses more on dealing with the enemy without solely relying on your level and instead using skills and an assortment of other qualities similar to real life.

“Alright so now that I know you can swat most other players like flies, we should start heading to the dungeon from here. Although Julius advised me to go to the capital city there is a faster way. Since NPC’s don’t have ability to go on the internet they haven’t seen the user-made maps uploaded to the forums.”

Even though they are not perfect, it’s still pretty accurate because most players chose to start out in the capital city since it has mostly everything a starter character needs. Really anything from noob items all the way to higher-level crafts and stores are there too.

“But when we get there how will you know where to go in the dungeon?”

I was waiting for her to ask that question but also hoped it never would.

“Julius told me the Dark will lead me…”

I mutter with a look as if I had announced to everyone that 2 + 2 = 5

“Pft, hahahaha!” Synth doubles over laughing.

“Mu, it’s not that funny.”

Hmph, oh well I’ll let it slide.

Time to summon Relix and Lyra and conquer a dungeon!